Pork export rules to China updated

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced new requirements for exporting U.S. pork and pork products to China.

“Pork and pork products with FSIS export certificate issuance dates on or after July 1, 2014 must be produced according to the Ractopamine Control Program below. Pork casings intended for processing (selection for size and quality) in China and subsequent re-export are exempt from the ractopamine residue control program,” FSIS wrote.

FSIS also added three plants not eligible to export to China until further notice, including Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., in Waterloo, Iowa; Transcontinental Cold Storage in Sioux City, Iowa; and Seaboard Foods in Guymon, Okla. Click here for the full update.

At the World Pork Expo earlier this month, Iowa State University professor Dermot Hayes pointed to China as the biggest potential market for U.S. pork. China is the world’s largest producer of pork, but consumer demand vastly outpaces local production.

China imports were up 16 percent in the first quarter of 2014 vs. 2013, and the potential is enormous. Read more here.